Downhole fluid analysis (DFA) is often used to provide information in real time about the composition of subterranean formations or reservoir fluids. Such real-time information can be utilized to improve or optimize the effectiveness of formation testing tools during a sampling processes in a given well, including sampling processes which don't return a captured formation fluid sample to the Earth's surface. For example, DFA permits reducing and/or optimizing the number of samples captured and brought back to the surface for further analysis. Some known DFA tools such as the Live Fluid Analyzer (LFA), the Composition Fluid Analyzer (CFA), and the In-situ Fluid Analyzer, each commercially available from Schlumberger Technology Corporation, can measure absorption spectra of formation fluids under downhole conditions. Such fluid analyzers provide ten (LFA, CFA) or 36 (IFA) channels, each of which corresponds to a different wavelength of light that corresponds to a measured spectrum ranging from visible to near infrared wavelengths. The output of each channel represents an optical density (i.e., the logarithm of the ratio of incident light intensity to transmitted light intensity), where an optical density (OD) of zero (0) corresponds to 100% light transmission, and an OD of one (1) corresponds to 10% light transmission. The combined OD output of the channels provides spectral information that can be used to determine the composition and various other parameters of formation fluids.